"The pandemic showed us that nothing lasts forever."
George Purnell is the founder and director of easy dining restaurant and cocktail bar, Koop+Kraft.
He opened his first restaurant and cocktail bar ages 25. He started his career at 16 as a waiter and has worked his way up in the industry through all of the roles to open his own restaurant. He has just launched a second business, Goozie, which is a dessert parlour. George was previously named one to watch on the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator #30under30 list for 2019.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
George Purnell: Koop+Kraft is an easy-dining restaurant and cocktail bar based in Hampshire, UK. It was founded in 2018 and has been a staple in the local community since. The ethos of Koop+Kraft is dirty, delicious food without it being from a greasy takeaway. We were one of the first in the area to bring a higher-end feel to fried food and continue to offer our customers the most popular and sought-after food that they don’t need to feel guilty about.
I opened it after starting my career in hospitality, working my way up from 16 years old and eventually becoming the owner of my very own restaurant. Most recently, I launched a desserts delivery company, Goozie. Goozie is Instagrammable, mouth-watering, indulgent desserts for those with a big sweet tooth – like myself!
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
George Purnell: We’ve had so many curveballs thrown our way over the last two years. From closing our business completely, to losing staff due to covid and much more, we’ve had ups and downs on a huge scale.
It has been a huge learning curve and we have definitely been tested on a few occasions, but we have come face to face with huge challenges and have had to overcome problems which have made us stronger. My biggest piece of advice would be to be as fluid as possible and adapt to everything. Being too rigid will only cause the changes – which keep coming although the pandemic is settling – to hit harder. Pivoting is massively important where you can and it’s important to ensure your business is viable whatever is thrown its way.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
George Purnell: Costs is a huge focus for us and I’d urge other businesses to consider making it a focus of theirs. Businesses have to keep costs down. With inflation in the UK rising rapidly, along with gas and electricity and business rates going up, it will be harder than ever to create a profitable business. Customers won’t want to pay more but costs will be rising, so check on your finances and business model where you can and make sure it’s solid so that whatever is thrown at it, it can survive.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
George Purnell: The hospitality industry has been massively hit by the pandemic – possibly one of the hardest hit. We’re still suffering now with price increases and shortages of stock and staff, so our talent pool has decreased. As a result, customers’ expectations have changed, but there’s more pressure than ever. Delivery is now a massive element of the business, which is one of the reasons that we expanded and launched Goozie, so that we could supplement our offering, while ensuring we’re delivering on our customer’s expectations.
Adaptation is one of the most common things we’ve had to do in the last two years, and are still doing now. The industry is continuously evolving and we’ve got to adjust to everything that comes our way.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
George Purnell: The pandemic showed us that nothing lasts forever. Whatever happens, be it lockdowns or tiers or regulations, it’ll be temporary. The changes are tough because you constantly have to modify your offering, but in 2022, part of our new normal has been adapting to new situations quickly, because we experienced such extreme changes, so now are much more able to adapt to smaller changes.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
George Purnell: Our business is physical and always will be, so for us there are lot more online delivery platforms with increased demand, so we’re trying to exploit that. I genuinely believe that in 2022 and beyond, delivery and takeaway should be an integral part of any hospitality business. I believe that a lot of restaurants, cafes and eateries will continue to offer takeaway because there is such a heightened demand after the pandemic changed so many peoples’ dining habits.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
George Purnell: If you count the screen of my iPhone, it’s probably around 9 hours per day, which is pretty high considering my business is physical. There will be calls and texts and emails to deal with from the minute I wake up until the minute I go to bed. I employ around 20 staff so I end up dealing with enquiries from my staff throughout the day, while working on things like technical issues, marketing and delivery platforms.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
George Purnell: I like to share stories with my staff, leaning heavily on personal experiences as I find it helps them to relate to me more and understand the job better. It makes them feel like they’re not being dictated to and reminds them that I was in their shoes once. I’ve worked my way up from the bottom and as a result have experienced every step on the ladder, so feel that sharing my experiences helps my staff navigate this themselves too.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
George Purnell: Costs are a huge thing that is affecting us right now. We’ve got to focus on keeping our heads above water, but also trying to thrive in difficult times. It feels like the last two years have brought challenges one after the other, which aren’t stopping, but now we know how to adapt, we can overcome them better.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
George Purnell: In 6 years, I believe that crypto will take over the world, so I want to familiarise myself with it and understand how it works so I can work out how to use it to my advantage in a business sense.
My team and I are always learning about online marketing and are constantly monitoring the latest trends to understand our audience and help us cater to them better both in and out of the restaurant. We’re heavy on social media marketing and utilise things like Instagram reels, TikTok and Facebook groups to grow our audience and attract more customers.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
George Purnell: Managers should listen to their staff, rather than just hear them, which means that employees should have a platform to speak and to raise any issues on. If you do get any issues, these should be dealt with and resolved or changes put in place to make the workplace better for employees, and not just dismissed. People won’t want to leave a job if they genuinely love the job, culture and team, which is what we aim to implement at Koop+Kraft.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
George Purnell: I would choose being able to slow down time, so I could achieve more within the 24 hours in each day. I could be super productive but without needing any more time.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
George Purnell: To me, success this year means surviving, while hitting the goals we set out in January. If we’ve done that then it means we’ve managed to manoeuvre through the year and all the challenges that it will inevitably bring. Hopefully we can thrive while navigating these challenges – something I believe we’re capable of.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank George Purnell for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with George Purnell or his company, you can do it through his – Instagram
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